Lessons to Learn Revamped
by Kinboshi Hiko
Summary: AU, S/D. Serena and the girls join a summer program at a college a few hours away, where she finds out that Math isn't the only lesson she has to learn. Co-written with Gods Sent Angel.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Neither myself or my partner in crime own Sailor Moon. If we did, the Ann and Alan saga would have gone on indefinitely.

**Prologue**

Serena slumped in her chair, staring at the clock above the classroom door; it was the last day of class before summer break and the final three hours keeping her from sweet freedom were going excruciatingly slow. She was so engrossed in her contemplation on whether the clock might be broken that she was completely unaware of her teacher or any other activities going on around her. Suddenly a loud thump on her desk startled her out of her musings.

"Ms. Tsukino," the instructor grated angrily. "I am aware that it is the last day of school, but I would request that you give me the courtesy of your attention while you are in my class."

Serena looked down at her desk sheepishly and immediately saw the source of the noise. Her heart sank and she groaned as she slipped lower in her chair. This was not going to be good.

"Sit up please, Ms. Tsukino," her teacher berated, then pointed at the stack of papers she had plopped down on the desk. "These are all of your uncompleted assignments for the semester. If you have any hope of graduating with your class next year, I suggest you dedicate what little time you have left to completing as much as you can."

"But," she whined. Shifting her gaze from the formidable stack to the teacher towering over her, her eyes as wide as saucers, "How am I gonna to finish all this? It's impossible!"

"Perhaps you should have thought about that when they were assigned to you," The professor said coldly. As she stared at the papers the teacher walked away, handing out more papers to other students and checking that they had completed their work.

Pouting, Serena took the first sheet from her own stack grudgingly and dragged it in front of her, glancing over it as she dug into her bag for a pencil. Word problems. She was doomed.

* * *

"Ugh, I thought it would never end." Serena stretched, her bag filled with the contents of her locker in hand as she joined her best friend on the pathway out of the school.

"It was nice of your instructor to give you a chance to catch up," Amy offered. She tucked a strand of her short blue hair behind one ear as they walked and adjusted her messenger bag. She felt both sorry for and exasperated with her friend, but she kept her feelings to herself as Serena fixed her with a baleful stare.

"How could she expect me to finish all that work at the end of class?" She threw her head back dramatically. "I mean, it was so hard, and how unfair springing it on me right at the end of the year."

"But she assigned them months ago," Amy pointed out. "If you'd done them when they were handed out it wouldn't have been so much. I didn't have any homework all week."

"That's because you're smart," Serena pouted. "You're always studying and reading things. I'm just not like that, I want to do things, not study them."

Amy held her tongue. There was no point arguing with Serena about school; as much as she loved her best friend, she was invariably a ditz. She cast about for something to change the topic and her eyes landed on a flier stapled to one of the message boards.

"You could take the summer correspondence with me," she offered. "It would be doing something, and it will be fun."

"You mean that college shadowing thing? No way," Serena grimaced. "There's no way I'm wasting my summer doing even more school."

"You never know," Amy chided, "you might like it. You could shadow anything you want, and it counts as college credits."

Serena shook her head emphatically. "Nu-uh," she said. "It's great for you, Ms. Part-Time-College, but you won't catch me there." She flipped the bag of locker items over her shoulder and firmly ended the conversation with a much more enjoyable proposal. "Wanna go get some ice cream?"

Amy smiled and let the topic die with a nod. She knew she would never convince Serena to take her education seriously. Still, she found she had to try.

* * *

Serena waved goodbye to Amy as they rounded the corner of her block. Amy had said she was going to pack for the college correspondence and Serena wanted to get home in time to watch her favorite show, so they had gotten their ice cream to go. She the last few bites of her strawberry waffle cone into her mouth as she entered the front gate of her house. She licked the last traces of ice cream melted by the warm June sun from her fingertips as she opened her front door and immediately she knew something was wrong. In the living room her mother sat in her overstuffed recliner, which had been pulled around to face the door. In her lap was a piece of paper. The look on her mother's typically calm face was enough to make her blood run cold. She dropped her bag and toyed with the idea of bolting out the door when her mother leveled her with a steely gaze.

"Serena," she said through clenched jaws.

"Hi mom," Serena said with uneasy cheerfulness. She had no idea what else to say, or if she should say anything. Her mother solved her dilemma for her after a few awkward seconds.

"I got a letter," she said with deceiving calm. "From your school." Serena's insides plummeted to somewhere in the vicinity of Antarctica. "It seems that there have been some issues with your grades." Her mother snapped the paper in the air, and giving her a pointed look began to read. "Your child, Serena Tsukino, has failed the following courses and will not be permitted to graduate without completion or equivalence of the following." She paused and Serena gulped. "English 3, History 3, Intermediate Algebra, Biology 1, Japanese 1 or equivalent language credits."

A heavy silence fell between the two of them as the list of her failures sank down and smothered her earlier joy at the freedom from school. She squirmed under the weight of her mother's gaze and the reality of her poor study skills. The silence was unbearable and she blurted out the only thing that came to mind in a desperate attempt to break through the smothering disappointed anger in the room.

"I didn't fail everything," she pointed out.

"No," her mother said, picking up a second piece of paper she had not noticed on the side table and skimming it. "You got a B in P.E. and a D in cooking. A D, Serena?"

Her heart sank even lower in her stomach, tears pooling in her eyes. She thought she had done a little better in cooking class. Yes, she had burned nearly every recipe she had been assigned, but she really had studied for that class and paid attention most of the time. Her final had even been edible. Mostly.

"I talked to your principal and we agreed the only way you will be able to graduate with your class is if you take summer classes," her mother continued.

"But mom," Serena wailed, but her mother shot out of her chair with so much fury in her eyes she clamped her mouth closed on the rest of her protest.

"Don't you dare even start, Serena Usagi Tsukino," her mother shouted. Her mother almost never lost her temper or raised her voice. She was dead. So, so dead. "You are going on that college shadowing trip, you will apply yourself and so help me you will graduate next year. Do I make myself clear?"

Serena nodded cautiously, not trusting herself to speak. The last thing she wanted was to upset her mother any more than she already had; one wrong word and she might not live long enough to get to her room. This seemed to unruffle some of her mother's feathers and she visibly calmed down and composed herself once more.

"Now," she said slowly, "You are going to go to your room and pack. I've already confiscated all of your electronics and packed the school supplies you'll need. All you have to do is pack clothes and toiletries. And don't think I'm not going to check what you pack because I am. You will study on this correspondence, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," she replied meekly, staring at her feet.

"Good. The bus leaves tomorrow at eight," her mother folded her arms in front of her and nodded toward the stairs. "You better get packing."

Serena picked up her bag and quickly made her way upstairs to her room. This was going to be the worst summer ever.

**A/N: Hello everyone! As you can see we're not dead! Yay! Gods sent angel and I are now revamping Lessons to Learn. We re-read the original and were horrified. Our muses struck and we have been helpless to save ourselves. This prologue was primarily written by her and betad by me, so please direct your reviews to her. She responds to her pen-name or just Angel. :) We hope you enjoy and please review. Your support is what got us writing again and it's what will keep us writing.**


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Neither myself or my partner in crime own Sailor Moon. If we did, Darien wouldn't have been kidnaped and brainwashed so many times.

**Chapter 1**

Serena let out a gusty sigh as she climbed the steps into the bus, paying more attention to her inner monologue than anything going on around her. She was upset, and her last real summer vacation was going to be nonexistent. It was so unfair. How was she going to survive this? At least her best friend was going with her. Not for the same reasons of course, Amy was too smart to get herself into this situation. She was going for the college credits and the chance to get ahead. Shaking herself out of her daze, she looked around the bus trying to spot her blue-haired friend.

"Serena! Back here," shouted a voice she hadn't been expecting. She scanned the bus and saw a crowd of four girls taking up the back row.

Making her way toward them she squealed and started talking in a rush, "Mina! Lita! Rei! What are you guys doing here? I thought it was just going to be me and Amy going! Why would you guys willingly give up your summer vacation?"

"Shut up already! God, Serena. At least let us talk, would ya?" Rei said, pushing her long black hair back over her shoulder. "You're always running your mouth, it's a wonder you even have time to breathe."

"Guys, don't start!" Amy said as she saw Serena making a face at Rei and getting ready to throw a fit over what she had said.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can meet any cute college guys!" Lita stated with a toss of her pony tail. "Lord knows the guys in our class aren't worth my time."

"Oooooh! I didn't even think of that!" Serena squealed. "College guys are so dreamy."

"The men in college are the big reason why I'm going too,"said Mina with a gentle smile on her face , "and of course, for the college credits. Why not get a head start if I can?"

"You three have your heads in the clouds. This program is for us to get a head start on college and help us out with next year, not shopping for boyfriends. Besides, just because a guy is in college doesn't make him cute." Rei lectured with a glare. Lita and Mina glared back while Serena pouted. If she had known Rei was coming, she would have put up more of a fight.

* * *

As the bus pulled up into a turn around in front of the Student Union at Sumner-Merrit University, the girls looked around with excited eyes. They were all in different states of eagerness to begin this new adventure. Serena was the least enthusiastic of the bunch, barely managing a genuine smile. She had no idea what to expect, but she was also optimistic, hoping that just maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Being the last off the bus the girls had to wait a while to get their bags from the undercarriage. Mina and Lita were giggling and staring at all the attractive college guys while trying to appear a little older than they were. Amy was staring around taking in the University, a light of excitement in her eyes. Rei was pushing towards the front of the crowd trying to get her bags. She was not a patient person and didn't want to deal with all of this nonsense. Serena was oddly enough being quiet and keeping to herself, just leaning against the side of the bus and observing what was going on. She was in no hurry to get started on this program.

After finally getting their bags, the five girls trudged towards the entrance of the Student Union to get their living assignments and to hear the rules of the program. There was a banner above the door welcoming the students from the different schools involved in the program and it was also advertising the ice-cream social they were currently having.

Upon seeing this Serena started pushing and shoving, hefting her bag with surprising strength until it came in contact with something. A living something apparently, judging by the stream of curse words emanating from behind the bag. Serena dropped her bag and opened her mouth to apologize.

"Ow! Watch it, jerk. Jeeze that hurts." A black-haired man with piercing blue eyes snapped at the pigtailed blonde.

"Well sor-ry! I was trying to apologize." Serena snapped back with ice in her eyes.

"Oh God, it's one of you kids. Don't swing your junk around. You're going to hit somebody else, and I doubt they'll take it as well as I am," the guy said feeling more frustrated by the moment.

Serena clenched her fist and narrowed her eyes, huffing a breath she retorted, "It was an accident. Ya know, as in not on purpose! You don't have to be so rude about it. And most people would at least give me a chance to apologize! And what do you mean "one of those kids"? You act like I'm five or something you jerk!"

"Calm down, you're acting like you're five. Stop running your mouth off before it gets you in trouble. This isn't kindergarten," the irate man growled. All of a sudden a tall brunette was in his vision along with the blonde pipsqueak.

"Yeah, this is college; the place where manners go to die apparently. Thanks for the lesson jackass," the brunette snarked, grabbing the blonde by the elbow and dragging her and her luggage over to a row of seats on the left side of the room already occupied by three other girls.

"I could have handled that guy Lita. He was nothing but an over grown jerk." Serena gasped out trying to keep up with the longer legged girl.

"I know you could have Serena, but my way was quicker, huh?" Lita winked at her companion. "Now lets just sit down, Amy already grabbed you a chocolate ice-cream, and find out what's going on."

A podium was set up at the front of the small meeting room the students were assembled in and a projection screen had been set up behind it. Within a few minutes, when the majority of students had found their seats and the last lollygaggers were trickling in, an older gentleman came through a small door to the right. The girls watched as he crossed to the podium and shuffled some papers before looking up over the rim of his glasses at the assembled group. More people began to notice him and a hush settled over the crowd of students as their attention focused forward. Serena slowly licked her ice cream, not particularly interested in some old man standing and staring at them. Amy was sitting beside her and leaned over to explain that this was the Dean of the university in a hushed tone. The Dean cleared his throat and the microphone in front of him whined softly as the sound was adjusted by some unseen technician.

"Good afternoon," the Dean greeted them, "I hope you all had a safe trip. My name is Dean Hauser and I'd like to welcome you all to Sumner-Merrit University. Now most of you have likely never been on a college campus, so there are some rules we'll need to go over, but first, I'd like to talk to you a little more about this program."

The lights dimmed and the projector flickered into life on the screen behind Dean Hauser. The Dean turned slightly to look up, a remote mouse in his hand, and started the power point presentation. The image that came up was a generic animated welcome page that simply stated the name of the university and had a cover picture of the main building which they had passed on the way in. He clicked the button again and another slide came up as he turned back to the audience.

"The Jump Start program is designed for juniors who are getting ready to begin looking into colleges. This is a three month summer course that offers both high school and college level credits and allows you to see what is required for your desired field of study. Each of you filled in what field you are interested in on your application to the program and the faculty have done their best to partner you with a college student in that field for you to shadow. Not all of you have one-on-one shadow partners, so please be courteous and remember that your mentor may be working with other students as well as their own responsibilities as students themselves."

"I didn't do any of that field of whatever stuff," Serena whispered to Amy, looking nervous.

"Your mom must have picked it for you," Amy replied without taking her eyes off the Dean. "Listen, you'll need to know this."

"You all have a home group based on your original high school," the Dean was saying, another slide coming up. "Although you will be in college classes, your assignments will be done through your home group instructor, who will give you your assignments and go over meeting schedules with you when you go to your groups after this. Your college partner will be your mentor and their assessment will be worth a portion of your grade, so be sure to listen and respect them." Another power point slid on screen. "Now, although you are receiving college credits, you are not college students. Each of you will be given a code of conduct by your home group instructor that will list everything we're about to go over." A screen with a large red crossed out circle flared up. Inside was a bottle of alcohol, a burning cigarette, and other typical items. Serena groaned and slumped farther in her seat. "First, no contraband. Any students found in possession of these items will be immediately removed from the program and will receive no credit for work done. Second," a new slide, this time with a giant digital clock reading 10:00, "There is a strict curfew of 10 PM for all of the Jump Start housing. This includes mentors. Third, we want this program to be a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone, so there is a zero tolerance policy for harassment."

"Gotta be nice to me, Rei," Serena mumbled to her across their friends. Rei stuck her tongue out at her and turned her attention back to the Dean. Serena sat up and focused on the front of the room just in time to hear the Dean welcome them again and dismiss. The girls stood and waited their turn to exit the small conference room to find their home group.

* * *

The girls were waiting out front of the building sitting on their luggage with all of the other students from their school. The teacher was taking forever to get to them. They finally saw her approaching with an armload of manila envelopes, and a few college students in tow.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," the teacher said while moving through the group handing out the envelopes. "Please bear with me a moment while I pass out your packets. The people behind me are a few of your mentors. They will be showing you to your accommodations for the summer. Please try to be respectful." After she was finished a woman with short light brown-hair started reading off a list of names.

"Aino, Mina. Anderson, Amy. Hino, Rei. Kino, Lita. And Tsukino, Serena. You five are with me."

"Hello, I'm Amy. It's a pleasure to meet you," the blue haired girl said when they reached the woman, a short distance away from the commotion.

"Hey Amy, nice to meet you. I'm Amara. I'll be one of your mentors for the next three months. Let's head over to the house and get you girls settled in, after that we can go ahead and introduce you to everyone else. Sound good?" The girls nodded in response to Amara's idea as she led the way to a large house on the east side of the campus.

A few minutes later they approached a large brown house with a decent sized yard and a cherry tree out front. Once inside, the girls followed Amara up to the second floor of the house. On either side of the hallway there were four doors, each with a nameplate hanging on them. Mina walked ahead a little bit to take a closer look noticing writing on the first nameplate.

"Girls?" She questioned. "Does this mean we're all rooming together?"

"No, that'd be the bathroom," Amara responded with a chuckle. "Each of the other three doors on this side will have either two or three names on them. Find your room, pick your bed and then make yourselves at home. Also, I would suggest reading your packets, they'll tell you who your personal mentor will be and what will be expected of you in the coming months."

The girls headed for the doors, searching for their names on the little chalk plaques. Lita and Mina found their names together on the second door from the bathroom and began taking in their bags. Rei let out a noise of disdain when she found her name on the door directly beside the bathroom. Amy had already begun taking in her bags when Rei shouldered passed her.

"Hey Serena, you're in here with Rei and I," Amy said gently. "Come on, it won't be so bad." She knew Serena would be upset at the prospect of rooming with Rei, she just hoped their bickering wouldn't affect her studying too much. Serena drug her bag in and noticing Rei had taken the single bed on the right hand side of the room. She turned to Amy and forced a smile for her friend.

"Hey Ames, whatta ya want? Top or bottom?"

"It doesn't matter to me Serena. Whichever you'd prefer is fine," Amy replied.

"Bottom it is," the blonde sighed as she dropped her bags and climbed to the top bunk. "If it's alright with you guys, I'm gonna take a nap until dinner."

"Serena! You're supposed to read your packet!" Rei grumped from her side of the room. She turned to lecture the blonde more and realized the girl was already asleep.

**A/N: Hi again! I know, a prologue and a chapter in one day? Crazy, huh? Well, we are going to be updating every 2 weeks, if not more often. Please check out my bio for more information on how to get update info, sneak peeks, or offer us suggestions. Thanks for reading, and please review!**


End file.
